Distribution of lifespan for men initiating preventative therapy (with a risk reduction of 30%) at the age of 50, with national average blood pressure and national average cholesterol. Distribution of lifespan for men initiating preventative therapy (with a risk reduction of 30%) at the age of 50, with national average blood pressure and national average cholesterol. Each small square indicates one representative individual taking a lifetime of preventative therapy. For the individuals whose lifespans are longer with medication, a bar is drawn whose height represents their individual lifespan gain from medication: white columns represent individuals who gain no extra lifespan, yellow columns represent individuals who gain lifespan less than the group mean gain, blue columns represent individuals who gain an amount of lifespan similar to the group mean gain and green columns represent individuals whose gain is more than the group mean gain. The graph makes it clear that although only a minority of the cohort (7%) gain any lifespan from a lifetime of preventative therapy; nevertheless, this relatively small group gain is much more (99 months) than the group mean gain (7 months). Judith A Finegold et al. Open Heart 2016;3:e000343 ©2016 by British Cardiovascular Society